China North East Petroleum Accused of Fraud in SEC Lawsuit

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- China North East Petroleum Holdings
Ltd. and company executives were sued by the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission over claims that offering proceeds were
fraudulently diverted to insiders’ personal accounts.

The government claimed in a complaint filed today in
Manhattan federal court that insiders made $59 million without
proper disclosures. Starting in 2009, Wang Hongjun, CNEP’s
president and chief executive officer, and a company founder, Ju
Guizhi, engaged in “numerous undisclosed, related-party
transactions” involving the company, the SEC said.

“Neither the magnitude nor the volume of these related-party transactions has been fully disclosed to the investing
public,” according to the complaint. The diversion of funds
from two 2009 public stock offerings to insiders and their
family members was inconsistent with their “intended and
permissible uses,” according to the SEC.

CNEP is a Nevada corporation that does oil exploration,
drilling and production in China, with principal offices in New
York and California, according to the filing.

The company was formed through a reverse merger with a
U.S.-based shell company in 2004, the SEC claims. After the
company’s stock was delisted by the New York Stock Exchange in
July, the shares remain delisted and registered with the SEC,
according to the complaint.

A representative of CNEP wasn’t immediately available to
comment on the lawsuit.

The case is SEC v. China Northeast Petroleum Holdings Ltd.,
1:12-cv-08696, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New
York (Manhattan).